The End of Reurbanisation? Phases of Concentration and Deconcentration in Migratory Movements in North Rhine-Westphalia

Abstract

For some time now, there has been a lively debate about reurbanisation in Germany with regard to trends in spatial development. At the same time, the consequences of spatially imbalanced development can be observed in many regions. In large metropolitan areas in particular, the renewed appeal of cities has made living space scarce and expensive. There is extensive investment in residential construction and infrastructure, yet the first signs of a further shift in the trend are starting to emerge. It is against this background that this paper investigates migratory movements in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, covering a period of more than four decades. The resulting change in the distance between place of residence and the nearest major centre is calculated for each case of migration in the time period under investigation. By aggregating the individual values, an indicator is generated that can be used to identify different phases of spatial concentration and deconcentration. The results remind us that for a long time the predominant forces in migratory movements were centrifugal. This makes the transition to the spatial concentration phase that took place in the past decade, and that can be precisely traced from the values obtained, all the more striking. In the final years of the period under investigation, the results are significantly influenced by the handling of the publicly-directed migration of refugees and asylum-seekers within the state. If municipalities with admission facilities for these groups that exhibit anomalous migration data are excluded from the analysis, deconcentration processes appear in fact to be gaining the upper hand again in North Rhine-Westphalia. Renewed momentum in residential suburbanisation in the areas surrounding the major centres is behind this current development. Deceleration of the migratory losses from more peripheral municipalities can also be observed, however.

The end of urban sprawl? Internal migration across the rural‐urban continuum in Switzerland, 1966−2018

“…Periurbanisation recently intensified again and increasingly focuses on the rural rings around agglomerations—rather than on the sparse urban zones closer to the centres. This may be explained by the soaring rental prices in Switzerland (which increased by at least 31% since 2000 according to the SFSO's rental price index), as observed in Germany (Osterhage, 2018 ; Sander, 2014 ; Stawarz et al, 2021 ). In Switzerland, gentrification particularly concerned the dense zones in large agglomerations (Rérat et al, 2010 ).…”

Shifting spatial patterns in German population trends: local-level hot and cold spots, 1990–2019

“…In the west, suburbanization has continued during this period, especially in growing agglomerations (Herfert and Osterhage, 2012). Suburbanization has gained momentum again in prosperous regions in recent years (Osterhage, 2018). In contrast to the growth in large cities and urban regions, population numbers have declined in rural areas characterized by permanent structural weaknesses in both small rural settlements and small towns (Fink et al, 2019), not only in eastern Germany but also in regions such as northern Hesse, Upper Franconia or Saarland (see Fig.…”

“…However, there are also structurally weak cities with stagnating or still-declining populations. Compared to the 2000s, Wolff et al (2020) identify three main differences in current urban development trends: the increase in population is characterized no longer primarily by the in-migration of young adults but increasingly also by families, young professionals and younger wage earners (Osterhage, 2018). Urban growth is increasingly spreading to medium-sized cities and small towns in shrinking regions and structurally weak areas (Steinführer and Kohring, 2019).…”

“…This trend is referred to in the literature as reurbanizationa phenomenon with many facets. Not only are different definitions and operationalizations proposed, but there are also different positions on the causes of reurbanization (Haase et al, 2010;Osterhage, 2018;Siedentop, 2018). A first strand of literature focuses on socioeconomic changes, for example, the transition from Fordism to post-Fordism (Siedentop, 2018) or the increasing importance of the knowledge economy (Gans, 2015).…”

Bewertung und Klassifizierung von Bahnhaltepunkten in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Ein methodischer Ansatz zur Operationalisierung von „Transit-Oriented Development“

“…Behnisch/Kretschmer/Meinel 2018). Die ser Trend wird dabei sowohl von Prozessen der Reurbanisie rung, also des relativen Bedeutungsgewinns der Kernstädte, als auch vom Wachstum des engeren oder erweiterten Um landes der Kernstädte getrieben (Osterhage 2018).…”